The Alexanders 3 : He's the Man

by M. Malone

  “Penny? What are you doing here?”

  Matt appeared at her elbow. He didn’t exactly look happy to see her. She lifted her arms and said, “Surprise. Happy Birthday.”

  He met her eyes. “I was under the impression that you wanted us to spend less time together, not more.”

  Penny’s stomach clenched. He looked so cold. He’d always looked at her so warmly before. Now it was like they were strangers. “I was wrong. That’s what I came to tell you.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “I also wanted to apologize. It’s not fair to assume that you’re reacting inappropriately every time you get angry. You have a right to your anger just like everyone else.”

  Matt’s scowl softened. “Thank you for that. I don’t like it when we fight.”

  “I don’t either,” Penny admitted. “So let’s not fight anymore. Let’s dance and eat some birthday cake and then…” She leaned closer so only he could hear her. “I can give you your present when we get back to your house.”

  The fire she was used to sparked in his eyes. He smirked, the trademark smartass grin she loved so much. “Am I going to like it?” His hand trailed down her back and rested on her hip.

  She had to clamp her thighs together against a sudden ache of desire. The man could arouse her with nothing more than a grin and a hand on her hip. “I hope so, because it sure likes you.”

  * * * * *

  IT SHOULDN’T BE this hard to follow one person, Eli thought. But yet when Kaylee walked through to the kitchen, she looked up and saw him and walked back out. She snuck out to the back porch when his back was turned. No matter what he did or when he did it, somehow she could anticipate his plans and blow them all to hell. Guarding one small girl shouldn’t take this much of his mental energy. It was maddening and annoying and exhausting.

  The bathroom was probably the only place he could be sure she’d be safe.

  When she walked across the room to use the powder room next to the kitchen, she glanced behind her and then spun around. Startled, Eli stopped dead in his tracks.

  She jabbed a finger at his chest. “What are you doing? Stop following me!”

  “It’s my job.” Eli made sure his voice held no emotion. It probably didn’t matter to her that she was driving him crazy, but he definitely didn’t want to hand her that kind of ammunition. Most women loved the power they held over men.

  “Surely you don’t think there are armed assassins lying in wait for me somewhere in your brother’s house?” She looked at him like he was an idiot. Even when she was angry, she tempted him. Her smooth brown skin was completely free of makeup and her dark hair was twisted and pulled back into a long ponytail. There was nothing about her that said seductress but she was fatal to his control anyway.

  Eli took a deep breath and resolved not to take his bad mood out on her. It wasn’t her fault that she was exactly his type physically. Mentally, she was far too young for him, but that didn’t stop his dick from reacting like he was a teenage boy with his first dirty magazine whenever she was near.

  “It’s my job to assume there are armed assassins waiting for you everywhere. In my brother’s house. In your house. In the supermarket. In the goddamned bathroom.”

  “You’re going to follow me into the bathroom now?” Kay’s mouth fell open.

  For a hyper-charged moment, Eli couldn’t stop his gaze from dropping to her lips, then down to the generous cleavage concealed beneath her fuzzy pink sweater. She had the kind of shape that women bemoaned and men celebrated. After having a baby, she was even more round and soft. A pinup girl in the flesh.

  A baby pinup girl, he reminded himself. One who was far too young and sweet for him to be lusting after.

  “When Jackson made the decision for you to go solo, things changed in that moment. There’s going to be even more intense media scrutiny on you now, and that level of coverage brings out the whack jobs. You don’t think you need protection, but you do. You have no idea how much.” He added the last part under his breath.

  “Ugh! You are impossible!” Kay stomped into the bathroom and closed the door firmly behind her. The loud punch of her turning the lock made him smile. His girl had spunk.

  Except she’s not your girl. She’s your charge. You’re only relation to her is to keep her alive.

  Eli hoped she never figured out exactly why he was keeping her so close. Plenty of his clients had received death threats that didn’t amount to anything. But this one had been very specific and chillingly calm. Jackson had wanted to tell her immediately, but Eli wouldn’t allow it. Kay was a sweet girl and she wasn’t prepared for that kind of stress. He’d shield her from it as long as he could.

  It was his job to do the worrying.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  MATT WAS REALLY happy to see his friends. After being gone for the better part of the past two months, it was nice to see everyone was thriving and happy. Raina had popped out a few more inches and for the first time actually looked pregnant. There was no lingering tension between Trent and Mara. They were back to their sickeningly sweet lovey-dovey mode. Eli was following Kaylee around like a guard dog, and he wasn’t exactly sure he even wanted to know what was up with that. But for the most part everyone was great.

  Now he just wished they’d all go away.

  “Stop fidgeting. And stop doing that,” Penny said through gritted teeth while simultaneously moving her bottom away from his hand.

  “This is the longest party ever. How many ways can you say happy birthday?”

  “It’s nice your friends wanted to throw you a party.”

  “It is nice. It’s also incredibly long.”

  He couldn’t think past dragging Penny home and making love to her. Standing next to her with her baby-powder scent tickling his nose was pure torture. The only reason he’d been so determined to come in the first place was because Trent had told him he was planning to propose here. Now it had been almost three hours and he hadn’t done it yet and Matt couldn’t get him alone to ask him about it. Maybe he’d decided to do it later in private.

  “We need to sneak out a little early.”

  As soon as he spoke, the music stopped and he heard a gasp. He pushed forward a little to see Trent on bended knee while Mara stood with her hands over her mouth.

  “Will you marry me, Mara?” Trent’s voice carried across the room, loud and clear.

  Matt grinned. It was hard to shock his sister, but she looked really surprised. Her eyes lifted and met his across the crowd. She stood there, her eyes darting around wildly for a few moments.

  “Mara?” Trent prompted.

  “Yes. Yes, of course!” Mara said finally. Trent slid the ring on her finger and then stood to pull her into a passionate kiss. A cheer arose from the crowd. They broke apart and were immediately surrounded by people, Trent getting slapped on the back while the women clustered around Mara to admire her ring. The music started again and Penny leaned against his shoulder.

  “Did you know he was going to propose today?”

  Mara met his eyes over the crowd. After a second, she smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Matt’s heart clenched and he took an instinctive step forward. Then his eyes landed on Trent. His friend raised his hand in a wave and Matt nodded back. When he looked back at Mara, she was surrounded by chattering women.

  “Yeah, he told me last week. That’s why I wanted to be here. Except she doesn’t look… I don’t know. Something doesn’t look right.”

  “She’s smiling, but she doesn’t look happy,” Penny murmured. “There’s a certain look a woman has when she’s putting on a good face.”

  “You sound like you know from experience.” Matt knew she’d had a boyfriend when they’d met, but he hadn’t known she was thinking about marrying the guy. He clamped his lips together, trying to stem the questions that wanted to spill from his lips. Questions that he was sure he didn’t actually want the answers to.

  “I do. I know exactly how it feels to get a prop
osal from a man you think you should love.”

  Matt felt the tidal wave of irrational jealousy recede a little bit. She hadn’t loved the suit. “That’s not the case here. Mara loves Trent.”

  “Does she?” Penny asked softly, turning her head to look at his sister.

  Matt turned to look, too. Trent and Mara stood surrounded by friends and family. His sister was smiling, but her arms were behind her back and her smile was a little too wide.

  * * * * *

  PENNY DIDN’T HAVE much of a voice, but she sang happy birthday enthusiastically as Matt and Mara leaned close to their cake. As soon as they blew out the candles, he was taking her home. The look in his eyes had her worried. Knowing Matt, he might blow out the candles before they even finished singing.

  “Happy Birthday, Matt and Mara. Happy Birthday to you!” Penny sang and clapped along with everyone else as the song finally drew to a close.

  A few minutes later, the candles were extinguished and Matt had smiled his way through the crowd back to where she stood.

  “What’d you wish for, Mara?” someone called out from the crowd.

  Mara smiled tightly, then glanced behind her at Trent. “I don’t need wishes. I already have everything I need.”

  “How come no one asked what you wished for?” Penny turned to Matt and raised her eyebrows.

  Matt grabbed her arm and steered her through the crowd toward the front door. “Every guy in here already knows what I’m wishing for. It’s not the kind of thing you announce in front of friends and your surrogate parents.”

  “Matt!” It should be impossible for her to be shocked by anything he said at this point, but he could still take her off guard with his naked, undiluted passion for her. She’d never dreamed that a man would look at her that way. Plain, ordinary Penny. Matt made her feel like she was wearing skimpy lingerie and come-get-me heels even when she was just wearing jeans and a worn-in tee shirt.

  “We can leave now. No one will notice.”

  “Yes, they will.”

  “Okay, they will notice and they’ll definitely tease me about it later, but I don’t care.” He steered her through the crowd until they were finally out on the front porch. Penny giggled as Matt dragged her down the driveway to where his truck was parked on the street.

  “By the way, I’m really glad you’re here.” Matt pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear.

  Penny wasn’t sure what to say to that. Things were still so up in the air. However, whenever she wasn’t sure what she was doing, she remembered Matt standing up for her to Charles. She remembered the way he’d looked in her eyes and put her pleasure first. She wasn’t entirely sure she could give him what he wanted, but she was definitely sure it was worth trying.

  * * * * *

  “SO, I ASKED Eli to look into Penny or to drop in on Matt’s next appointment and meet her,” Mara announced. She spoke in a hushed whisper so they wouldn’t be overheard.

  Kaylee stood with Mara, Ridley, and Raina after most of the guests had left for the night. The guys were across the room playing cards, but Kay had no doubt they were paying attention to their women. Jackson looked at Ridley like he wanted to gobble her up, and Nick always followed his wife around the room with his eyes and not just because she was a supermodel.

  The pure love and joy reflected in his gaze when he looked at her was reason enough.

  “You want him to spy on your brother’s new sort-of-girlfriend? Why? I only talked to her for a little while, but she seemed really nice,” Kay whispered.

  “I know. It’s just that, did you see the way Matt looked at her? He’s never looked at anyone like that. What if she’s not the nice, sweet girl I remember? Penny might have changed in the last decade. What if she’s crazy and evil now? Matt’s been through a lot in the past year. I just don’t want him getting blindsided. Either way, Eli won’t do it. He turned me down flat. I need you guys to help me change his mind.”

  “Good luck with that,” Kay drawled. “Eli doesn’t change his mind. He thinks his way is best all the time. Plus, he’s too busy stalking my every move just in case there’s a crazed fan in the bushes outside my condo.”

  Eli had been a nightmare the past few weeks. He acted like she was some dim-witted twit who couldn’t be left alone to do much besides shower and sleep.

  Mara tilted her head and regarded Kaylee through narrowed eyes. “Eli’s been following you for a while now. Maybe you should ask him.”

  “What? No. I’m not getting in the middle of this. Besides, he follows me because he has to, not because he wants to. He’s barely said two words to me all day.”

  Except for when I yelled at him, she thought.

  Ridley picked at the food left over from the party. “It wouldn’t be that hard for Jackson to book you a gig in D.C. Then you’d have a perfectly good reason for going that way. Eli would have to follow and keep you safe.”

  Everyone turned to look at Ridley. Raina snorted out a laugh. “And you all thought she was so innocent.”

  “I’m starting to realize I’ve grossly underestimated you,” Mara said with a note of respect in her voice.

  Kay turned to Ridley. “This is crazy. What would I say when I got there? I’ve only spoken to Matt a handful of times. Wouldn’t it be weird if I just showed up?”

  Ridley pursed her lips. “Mara, have you been collecting Matt’s mail while he’s gone?”

  “Yeah, I usually pick it up every other day so it doesn’t pile up,” Mara said.

  “Why didn’t he just forward his mail?” Ridley asked.

  Kay rolled her eyes. “He probably got the same lecture about security Eli gave me. If you forward your mail, then your name goes on a list somewhere and potential thieves will know your house is empty. Also, anyone observing will notice that you’re suddenly not getting any mail.”

  “Well, that’s the perfect excuse for you to stop by. Surely something has come in the mail that’s important. Right?”

  “Not really, but I can pretend I thought it was.” Mara shrugged. “I doubt he’ll question Kay about why she’s there. He’ll just say thank you and to tell everyone hi.”

  Ridley clapped her hands together decisively, as if the matter was all but settled. “Excellent. If we’re lucky, Penny will be there when you see him, so he’ll do the polite thing and introduce her. If something’s off when Eli meets her, he won’t be able to resist checking her out. It’s in his nature. When he gets a hunch about something, he can’t let it go. He’s like a dog with a bone.”

  “I know,” Kay muttered crossly.

  “Cheer up. At least you two will have to stay overnight in a hotel,” Ridley whispered.

  Kay placed a hand over her chest, trying to contain her suddenly rapidly beating heart. “What? Why would that cheer me up?”

  Ridley gave her a sarcastic look. “Gee, I wonder. Are you really going to pretend you haven’t been panting after my incredibly buff brother-in-law for months now?”

  Kay groaned. “Great. I guess that means everyone knows. I’m sure that means he knows. He’s probably gotten a good laugh out of it. God, this is so embarrassing.”

  “Calm down. Eli has no idea. I just like to watch people, so I see things. It’s not a big deal. You guys will stay in a hotel and have a nice dinner. All paid for by the record company.”

  “Why would we stay in a hotel when Eli has a house there? Won’t he want to go home?”

  “Matt’s already staying there. Eli won’t drag you back to his house and inconvenience Matt when the hotel is already paid for.”

  “Ridley, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” Kay had never been a rule breaker. In general, if there was something that could go wrong when she was taking a chance and bending the rules, it would. Historically, it had never worked out for her. She had a feeling that if she tried to pull the wool over Eli’s eyes, he’d wrap her in it until she was bound so tightly she couldn’t move. Especially since he didn’t seem to like her much anyway.

  “Don’
t worry. I’ll take care of everything,” Ridley assured her.

  Somehow, Kay didn’t find that all too comforting.

  * * * * *

  MATT WATCHED PENNY walk around his bedroom. She picked up the cologne on the dresser and sniffed it. Then she picked up the few items of clothing he’d dropped on the floor and folded them, placing them neatly on top of the dresser.

  “This room looks like you. It’s definitely a tough-guy room.” She glanced back at him with a grin.

  “I’m just glad to have you here, in my home. Finally.”

  “I’m glad I’m here too. I almost didn’t come.”

  “Why did you, Penny? Really? You know I want you. I couldn’t deny that even if I wanted to. I’m pretty sure my hard-ons give me away. But I want more than that. So much more. If you don’t feel that way about me, then it’s probably better that we continue to keep our distance. I can’t survive another day of making love only to have you push me out the door as soon as it’s over.”

  “I want to tell you something.” Penny stepped away from the dresser and took his hand. She dragged him over to the bed. They sat on the edge, facing each other. After a few moments, she started talking. “Before I met you, I dated a really great guy.”

  “The suit?” Matt could barely keep himself from growling and beating his chest.

  “Yeah. His name was Scott and he was an assistant district attorney. He was smart, handsome, and a genuinely nice guy.” Penny dropped his hand and stood. She paced back and forth on the carpet a few times before she stood before him.

  “So what happened?” It wasn’t like he didn’t already know, sort of. However, he wanted to hear it from her. It wasn’t enough to know they’d broken up. He needed to know how. He needed to know why. Was it because the other guy had moved on? Or was it Penny’s doing?

  He hoped it was Penny’s doing.

  Penny sighed and held up her hands. “I don’t know. That was the whole problem. On paper we were perfect together. I might have gone on to marry him except something happened.” She turned and looked at him. The look in her eyes was so unbelievably tender that Matt couldn’t believe it was directed at him. “I saw you again. After that I couldn’t even contemplate marrying him. Everything missing in my relationship with Scott was what I felt for you.”